Powder White Improve Après Ski

By Katy Taylor

Winter holidays are of the work hard play hard ilk. Play involves dramatic mountains, twinkling snow drifts, off-piste power runs through snow–laden tree, rosy cheeky and massive smiles. Working hard is aching legs and early starts. But all too often, the accommodation, food and drink can also be hard work: overly-hot hotels, cramped chalet cabins, watery food and endless terrible wine.

As someone who finds that ‘no’ doesn’t trip off the tongue too well, I’ve spend many a fuzzy ski trip morning cursing the bottomless bottle (more likely a box) that wasn’t worth the effort, wishing there was something more interesting than breakfast baguette to aid recovery. But as a budget snowboarder, it’s not been an option. 

Power White seem to understand that I want good food, good wine, in a great resort (again, often not available to the poorer traveller) in comfortable surroundings.  The ski company founded two ex-chalet boys and a chalet girl (seasonal slaves rewarded by ski pass, accommodation and food) believe in flexibility and appreciate that you can cook good food on the cheap, and serve quality wine to accompany it. In fact, they are passionate about it.

They deal with my first problem – being at the lower end of the economic skiing scale –by creating me a tailor made holiday. Powder White is the only independent operator in the UK to offer their chalets, hotels or apartment holidays on a flexible catering basis. I can choose where I go, who should cook for me (chalet, hotel or self catering) and how often, as they also offer part catered options. I tell them what I want, how much I have to spend and they’ll make my money go as far as it can.

While Powder White do offer an unlimited supply of drinkable house wine, unusually including a house rosé, to all guests, but they also work with renowned wine merchants to provide more considered choices throughout a locally sourced dinner.

This year, their premium options include: the crisp, Domaine Guenault Sauvignon de Touraine, 2010, with deep, fresh elderflower flavours, and the merlot dominated Chateau Cailloux St Martin, 2008, for the red. Such refreshing choices do nothing to strengthen my will power, but do partly make the hangover less regrettable: it’s nothing that a bit of fresh air and exercise won’t sort it.